Ex-Contra Leader Killed by Gunman

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Former Contra leader Enrique Bermudez was shot and killed Saturday night by an unidentified gunman as he stepped out of his car in front of a downtown hotel, witnesses said.

Bermudez, a member of the Contra Directorate that waged war against the leftist Sandinista government that formerly ran Nicaragua, was shot once in the head, according to Associated Press correspondent Filadelfo Aleman, who happened to be at the scene.

The shooting occurred at about 11 p.m. local time.

Bermudez was at one time an officer in the Nicaraguan national guard under Anastasio Somoza Debayle, who was overthrown by the Sandinistas in 1979.

Bermudez had returned to Managua in the middle of last year, shortly after the electoral victory of President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro.

In recent weeks, he had criticized the government for allegedly not paying attention to the needs of the former Contras.